Japan’s already tense relations with its neighbours have deteriorated further in a bitter row about the assassination of the country’s first prime minister more than a century ago.

The Government of Shinzo Abe, the current Prime Minister, formally complained to China and South Korea yesterday about the opening of a memorial to a Korean man who assassinated Hirobumi Ito.

Ahn Jung Geun is remembered by Koreans as a national hero who sacrificed his life in a failed attempt to prevent Japanese colonisation of his homeland. However, Japan dismissed him as a criminal and terrorist. “We recognise Ahn Jung Geun as